London holidays + Travel writing | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/london+books/travel-writing
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Jan Morris: my favourite citieshttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/nov/14/jan-morris-favourite-cities
The great travel writer Jan Morris reveals the cities and people that have inspired her over 83 years<p>'And what is your favourite of them all?", people often ask me, when they learn I have spent most of my 83 years looking at cities around the world.</p><p>Dear God, what a question! To my mind cities are distillations of human life itself, in all its nuances, with all its contradictions and anomalies, changing from one year to another, changing with the weather, changing with history, changing with the state of the world, changing above all in one's own personal responses. How can I have a favourite? Sometimes I prefer one city, sometimes another. Inconstancy governs my responses to cities – fidelity in personal matters, promiscuity in civic affairs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/nov/14/jan-morris-favourite-cities">Continue reading...</a>Italy holidaysTravelUnited States holidaysVenice holidaysEgypt holidaysCity breaksMumbai holidaysLiterary tripsJan MorrisBooksLondon holidaysTravel writingIndia holidaysSydney holidaysSat, 14 Nov 2009 00:05:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/nov/14/jan-morris-favourite-citiesPhotograph: Colin McPhersonWriter in residence ... Jan Morris at home in Wales. Photograph: Colin McPhersonPhotograph: Colin McPhersonWriter in residence ... Jan Morris at home in Wales. Photograph: Colin McPhersonJan Morris2009-11-14T00:05:35ZSecret Britain travel guide part one: Writer Iain Sinclair on forgotten sites with storieshttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/apr/04/travel-britain-iain-sinclair-books
All around us lie overgrown and forgotten sites with fascinating stories to tell, says Iain Sinclair, who hopes this guide will inspire you to unearth them and discover your own<p>Walking around London's orbital motorway, the M25, for my book London Orbital, I found myself navigating a gulag of Victorian and Edwardian asylums. Napsbury, part of a colony of institutions between Potters Bar and Abbots Langley, was sealed off, awaiting its development package. I ducked under the perimeter fence and investigated. Those endless corridors! Charts of chemical regimes pinned to crumbling walls. The ice-crackle of broken glass underfoot. </p><p>Across the motorway, close to the spot where Margaret Thatcher cut the ribbon and declared the orbital madness open, I found another gated community, the former asylum at Shenley. I met a gardener, tending grounds that were once worked on by recovering patients, who told me that this mansion had once been the home of the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. At the back of a small chapel, in the slipstream of the motorway, I found Hawksmoor's grave, covered over with autumn leaves, in a shallow barbecue pit. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/apr/04/travel-britain-iain-sinclair-books">Continue reading...</a>United Kingdom holidaysTravelIain SinclairBooksLondon holidaysTravel writingLiterary tripsEngland holidaysFri, 03 Apr 2009 23:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/apr/04/travel-britain-iain-sinclair-booksPhotograph: Eamonn McCabeIain Sinclair, writer at home in Hackney. Photograph: Eamonn McCabePhotograph: Eamonn McCabeIain Sinclair, writer at home in Hackney. Photograph: Eamonn McCabeIain Sinclair2009-04-03T23:01:00ZLondon illuminatedhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/oct/01/rorymaclean.travelbooks
Christopher Winn's historic guide to London will not fail to enhance months, even years, of gentle urban exploration, says Rory MacLean<p><strong>'I Never Knew That about London' </strong><br>by Christopher Winn<br>published by Ebury Press November 2007 £9.99</p><p>I grew up under the spell of London. Illustrator Kerry Lee's evocative 1950 wall map of the city hung above our breakfast table at home in Canada. Over my corn flakes I traced the capital's high roads and medieval alleys. I studied Lee's quirky caricatures of Distinguished Residents (Henry VIII, Beefeaters), Rebels (Wat Tyler) and Popular Rogues (Dick Turpin, Claude Duval, Captain Macheath). I followed, along the Thames, the exploits of Thomas Carlyle and the Swan Uppers. Through the map I came to know – and love – the place long before I ever set foot in St Paul's or on Hungerford Bridge.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/oct/01/rorymaclean.travelbooks">Continue reading...</a>TravelLondon holidaysUnited Kingdom holidaysTravel writingEngland holidaysMon, 01 Oct 2007 13:03:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/oct/01/rorymaclean.travelbooksPhotograph: CorbisHidden history ... Hitler planned to move Nelson's Column to Berlin after his successful invasion. Photograph: CorbisPhotograph: CorbisHidden history ... Hitler planned to move Nelson's Column to Berlin after his successful invasion. Photograph: CorbisRory MacLean2007-10-01T13:03:39ZThe city guide: Londonhttps://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/apr/22/escape.london.travelbooks
<p>Typically frank and quirky in style, Time Out's new guidebook, 1000 Things To Do In London, has contributions from singer Suggs and Mayor Ken Livingstone. </p><p>Tips include where to buy old-fashioned sweets, go to a classical music club night, muck out a giraffe, go backstage in theatreland, and swim on a rooftop. It's in bookshops from 3 May, price £12.99.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/apr/22/escape.london.travelbooks">Continue reading...</a>TravelLondon holidaysShort breaksTravel writingTravel guidesEngland holidaysSun, 22 Apr 2007 22:08:23 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/apr/22/escape.london.travelbooksGuardian Staff2007-04-22T22:08:23ZReviews: London Walking: A Handbook For Survival by Simon Pope, and Walking Literary London by Roger Tagholmhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/31/travel.walkingholidays
Exhaust, brickdust, endless semis: Andy Beckett samples the difficult pleasures of city walking with London Walking: A Handbook For Survival by Simon Pope, and Walking Literary London by Roger Tagholm<p><strong> London Walking: A Handbook For Survival</strong> <br> Simon Pope <br>256pp, Ellipsis, £10 <br> <a href="http://www.booksunlimited.co.uk/bol/0,6206,1001002000093509,00.html">Buy it at a discount at BOL</a></p><p><strong> Walking Literary London: 25 Original Walks Through London's Literary Heritage</strong> <br> Roger Tagholm <br>176pp, New Holland, £9.99 <br> <a href="http://www.booksunlimited.co.uk/bol/0,6206,1001002000352319,00.html">Buy it at a discount at BOL</a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/31/travel.walkingholidays">Continue reading...</a>Walking holidaysTravelLondon holidaysUnited Kingdom holidaysBooksCultureSocietyTravel writingEngland holidaysFri, 30 Mar 2001 23:45:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/31/travel.walkingholidaysGuardian Staff2001-03-30T23:45:00Z